Dream Job

New Plymouth High School head baseball coach Bryan Boyd has paid his dues

  On Oct. 7, the plush, freshly mowed  parcel of land that rests just north of Plymouth High School became much more than just a high school baseball field for Bryan Boyd.

  It became his field of dreams.

  Boyd was hired as the Wildcats' new varsity baseball coach early last month, culminating a long-time dream of the Central Middle School social studies teacher.

  "I'm very excited," said Boyd, who served as the head coach of the Salem freshmen baseball team this past spring. "This is a great program and I'm glad to be a part of it.

  "Plymouth has fantastic, classy kids, great support from the parents and awesome facilities. It is a real honor to be able to coach here."

  Although the Plymouth job is his first high school head-coaching gig, the 29-year-old Boyd is a seasoned veteran when it comes to mentoring youth baseball teams.

  He started coaching recreation-league teams when he was 18. His resume also includes coaching stints with the travel-league Plymouth-Canton Mudcats, a varsity-assistant job at Livonia Clarenceville and his most recent freshmen coaching assignment at Salem.

  "My brother Bill has had the most influence on me as far as coaching baseball," he said. "I also learned a lot from watching (Salem head coach) Dale Rumberger, and I liked Sparky Anderson when he was with the Tigers.

  "The most important thing I'll ask my teams to do is play hard. I also stress good pitching and solid defense."

  Boyd said he met a lot of his players and their parents at a "Meet the Coach" night that was put together by the team's booster club.

  "It's a great group of kids," he said. "I'm familiar with them a little bit because I coached against them while I was at Salem."

  Boyd said he met briefly with his predecessor, Chuck Adams, a short time after he was hired.

  "He wished me well and told me to let him know if there was anything he could do to help," said Boyd.

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.